Seeker of Truth
A Site for the Independent Investigator of Truth

"When a true seeker determineth to take the step of search in the path leading to the knowledge of the Ancient of Days, he must, before all else, cleanse and purify his heart, which is the seat of the revelation of the inner mysteries of God, from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge, and the allusions of the embodiments of satanic fancy. He must purge his breast, which is the sanctuary of the abiding love of the Beloved, of every defilement, and sanctify his soul from all that pertaineth to water and clay, from all shadowy and ephemeral attachments. He must so cleanse his heart that no remnant of either love or hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly incline him to error, or that hate repel him away from the truth. Even as thou dost witness in this day how most of the people, because of such love and hate, are bereft of the immortal Face, have strayed far from the Embodiments of the divine mysteries, and, shepherdless, are roaming through the wilderness of oblivion and error. That seeker must at all times put his trust in God, must renounce the peoples of the earth, detach himself from the world of dust, and cleave unto Him Who is the Lord of Lords. He must never seek to exalt himself above any one, must wash away from the tablet of his heart every trace of pride and vainglory, must cling unto patience and resignation, observe silence, and refrain from idle talk. For the tongue is a smouldering fire, and excess of speech a deadly poison. Material fire consumeth the body, whereas the fire of the tongue devoureth both heart and soul. The force of the former lasteth but for a time, whilst the effects of the latter endure a century."

—Bahá'u'lláh
Kitáb-i-Íqan, pp. 192–93

Contact Information | U.S. Bahá'í Site

Added 22 August 2007

Detachment

Bahá'u'lláh, Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, in much of His Writings emphatically exhorts all people, especially religious seekers, to independently investigate truth. In the Hidden Words, a book of pithy aphorisms, Bahá'u'lláh writes:

"O SON OF SPIRIT! The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes." (Arabic, no. 2)

In this maxim, Bahá'u'lláh enjoins on the seeker to avoid seeing "though the eyes of others," but rather to use his "own eyes"—that is, when investigating religion (or anything else for that matter), all preconceived notions and prejudices should be abandoned in order that the truth may be perceived. Indeed, as stated in the above quotation from the Kitáb-i-Íqan (The Book of Certitude), the seeker should be detached to the point that in his heart "no remnant of either love or hate may linger therein." Attachments of any kind will deter the seeker from making an unbiased assessment in his investigation. According to the Bahá'í Writings, God has given man the capacity to discover the truth for himself. Therefore what others think or say—whether true or not—is irrelevant to the seeker of truth. This is an individual spiritual quest, and it is therefore the seeker alone who must determine, with the faculties that God has endowed him with, the truth for himself.

Pertinent to this matter is another Hidden Word by Bahá'u'lláh:

"O MAN OF TWO VISIONS! Close one eye and open the other. Close one to the world and all that is therein, and open the other to the hallowed beauty of the Beloved." (Persian, no. 12)

This is an issue of great moment, for Bahá'u'lláh indicates the level of detachment that one should have to this worldly existence, and obversely, the level of attachment that is necessary to the spiritual realm. How can the seeker begin to comprehend—to even the slightest degree—the mysteries of God, while enrapt in this ephemeral life? Bahá'u'lláh rhetorically states,

"O MY FRIEND IN WORD! Ponder awhile. Hast thou ever heard that friend and foe should abide in one heart? Cast out then the stranger, that the Friend may enter His home." (no. 26)

The "foe" in this instance is human attachment to the material sphere, or materialism. If it is the case that, as Bahá'u'lláh says in the next Hidden Word, "all that is in heaven and earth I have ordained for thee, except the human heart, which I have made the habitation of My beauty and glory," then we can never hope to decipher the truth while in a materialistic state of mind, since our hearts are "occupied" in such a case. The endeavor of the spiritual investigation of truth is not one that is to be met suppositionally, or merely intellectually. In fact, if one looks back on religious history (e.g., Christianity, Islam), one will readily admit that in the majority of cases when the Beloved appeared, the intellectuals of the time were the first to reject Him, along with the religious leaders. They were kept back from recognizing Him since, despite how intelligent or well-versed they were, they subscribed to their material natures (e.g., lust for leadership) rather than their spiritual ones. Says Bahá'u'lláh: "The learned and the wise have for long years striven and failed to attain the presence of the All-Glorious; they have spent their lives in search of Him, yet did not behold the beauty of His countenance" (no. 22).

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Reason

Seekers have different reasons for investigating religions other than their own, or those creeds that they are familiar with. Some religious adherents cannot find solace within their own faiths, for example. That their church or other place of worship does not meet their spiritual needs is often one major motivation for these individuals to change over creeds (or to abandon religion altogether). Some feel alienated from their religious communities as a result of being ignored or disliked. Such believers may, for example, feel that their place of worship is quicker to accept their money than themselves; these religious institutions would sooner accept contributions than the needs of the contributors. Distressed, these persons might come to the realization that there is something wrong with their faith-community, and seek another denomination or creed instead. Or conversely, they may abandon religion altogether and project their insecurities onto religion in general—that is, all other belief systems, even ones that they have never heard about or investigated (qualities unbecoming of the seeker of truth).

Thus, persons under these circumstances are liable to dismiss their own and all religions as oppressive, uncaring, or even misguided. Again, these are not the attitudes of the seeker of truth. A seeker will explore all possibilities instead of simply experiencing only one or two options, at the exclusion of the rest. In the "real world," a scientific method is applied when investigating material reality and all feasible options are explored; why should not such an approach be applied to the investigation of religion? Just as scientific investigation should be conducted both impartially and thoroughly, so should religion. "It behoveth every man," instructs Bahá'u'lláh, "to blot out the trace of every idle word from the tablet of his heart, and to gaze, with an open and unbiased mind, on the signs of His [Bahá'u'lláh’s] Revelation, the proofs of His Mission, and the tokens of His glory" (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 10).

Another type of seeker might investigate the Bahá'í Faith in order to determine for himself whether Bahá'u'lláh’s Revelation does indeed realize the prophecies of his religion. Bahá'u'lláh, in fact, asserts that He returns in the spiritual fulfillment of the prophecies of previous world religions. However, this kind of seeker will perhaps need to inquire deeper than the ordinary seeker into Bahá'u'lláh’s works, and will also need to consult scholarly books addressing the prophecies in question. Of these individuals, there are some who are able to straightaway hear the Voice of God in Bahá'u'lláh’s Writings, and on that basis declare themselves to be Bahá'ís. This is rare though, especially considering how materialistic society has become, and consequently how far removed men have become from their true spiritual natures. Nevertheless, Bahá'u'lláh states: "Verily I say, this is the Day in which mankind can behold the Face, and hear the Voice, of the Promised One" (p. 10).

All types of people have found and are finding their faith in Bahá'u'lláh—Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, and even atheists. Some of these individuals are active seekers, while others are not actively seeking but are impressed with the integrity displayed by Bahá'ís they personally know. Indeed, the positive effect on followers’ moral characters is one proof of the authenticity of a religion. If a faith is truly from God, then it will have the power to unite and to transfigure those who live by its precepts. Someone who truly lives the Bahá'í life, as opposed to merely calling himself a Bahá'í, will shrine out from among the rest. The leader of the Bahá'í Faith and Son of the Founder, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, declares:

"A man may be a Bahá'í in name only. If he is a Bahá'í in reality, his deeds and actions will be decisive proofs of it. What are the requirements? Love for mankind, sincerity toward all, reflecting the oneness of the world of humanity, philanthropy, becoming enkindled with the fire of the love of God, attainment to the knowledge of God and that which is conducive to human welfare." (The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 336)

An investigation of the Bahá'í Faith is therefore not complete unless the seeker gets in contact with local Bahá'ís. Other than the fact that doing so provides the seeker with resources, the seeker can also personally experience Bahá'í community life for himself and witness how confidence in Bahá'u'lláh morally uplifts individuals. In the Hidden Words, Bahá'u'lláh instructs Bahá'ís to perform stainless deeds without any ulterior motives:

"O SON OF MY HANDMAID! Guidance hath ever been given by words, and now it is given by deeds. Every one must show forth deeds that are pure and holy, for words are the property of all alike, whereas such deeds as these belong only to Our loved ones. Strive then with heart and soul to distinguish yourselves by your deeds. In this wise We counsel you in this holy and resplendent tablet." (Persian, no. 76)

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